Okay, so I've been lazy! New chapter!

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Simba almost immediately came back to himself. He massaged his head with his paw while he tried to sit up. "Ow," he muttered. "Whoa," Simba's vision went in and out of focus. After a moment, he realized Nala was still unconscious before him.

"Nala!" Simba rushed to his friend's side. She groaned and closed her eyes. She was back. "Nala? Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?" Nala shot at him. Simba cringed. He had never seen her hostile towards him.

"I'm in a ravine, I might have a concussion, I am definitely having issues standing up right now, no one knows where I am, and I no longer have any friends! Yeah, I'm 'okay'" Nala ranted.

Simba was taken aback. "Nala, what do you mean you…no friends… what about …"

Nala realized what she had said and looked at her paws. She muttered quietly, "No one has anything against Timon or Pumbaa," she turned to face Simba, speaking louder, and angrier now. "But we're sick of you dumping the ones who have loved you your entire life to hang out with them!"

"But, Nala, they're my friends…"

"And what am I, Simba?"

"My friend."

Nala leaned in to deliver the fatal blows. "Start acting like it!" she said, as though he were still a cub. "It's not just me, either! Your mother has taken to moping around Zira's old field, the pride is totally weirded out and are about ready mutiny in their panic, your own father has been coming to ME, trying to figure out a way to reverse your…whatever-ness, while still dealing with this stinking drought!!! Simba, do you realize Mufasa is so worried about your new Hakuna Matata thing that he is afraid to one day give you his kingdom?"

That got him. Simba hadn't realized. He had been completely blind to it. And to find out that his blindness had hurt his father so much that Mufasa would worry about something like that… Nala turned towards the ravine wall they had fallen off of. She looked over her shoulder at Simba.

"You are going to be the next king, Simba. Think about that." With that, Nala scaled the wall, leaving Simba all alone. He looked out into space. Nothing went through his mind, or maybe everything. He didn't know how to react. Simba just sat by a puddle on the ground. He stared at his reflection for hours. The sun rose right over him, passed him, began to set. Still Simba sat there, staring. Who am I? What am I? … (A/N okay, lame line)

…

"TIMBER!"

Simba snapped his head up. The biggest tree he'd ever seen, at least 60 feet long, was above him, falling. It took him a moment to realize… A HUGE TREE WAS ABOVE SIMBA AIMED RIGHT AT HIS HEAD!

"AAAAHHHHH!" Simba turned at ran down the ravine away from the now crashing tree. He looked back. It formed a perfect ramp to safety. Simba looked at the ledge above. Nala stood there, looking mighty proud of herself. "Nala, how did you-"

"Don't ask questions, just climb!" Simba obeyed. Maybe Nala had realized she had overreacted towards him. But when he reached the top, Nala was already gone.

Everyone in the pride was already asleep by the time Simba got home. Even Timon and Pumbaa were asleep beneath the promontory. Even Nala. The young prince skulked over to his parents and went to sleep. But he was not to have a peaceful sleep.

He was floating above the stampede. Simba wasn't going to be hurt so long as he concentrated on staying above the wildebeests. But there was his father, struggling to climb a wall of rock. He was at the top, but something was wrong. Taka sat above him, watching Mufasa struggle. No, Taka was letting Mufasa slip! And another Simba was there with him! What? NALA! She was next to Mufasa, kicking and reaching out!

NO! They were falling! Everything was going so slow, but it seemed so fast! Taka let Mufasa and Nala fall! NO! SIMBA was letting them fall! Taka was never there! They were falling into the stampede! NO! The first Simba watched the fall to their deaths. And he turned around and walked away! NO!(A/N sound semi-familiar?)

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Simba awoke. He looked around. The pride was sleeping. They were all in the cave.

Several of the Pride members woke up. "Sorry," Simba grumbled and pretended to go back to sleep. As soon as the whole pride was asleep, Simba left the cave. He looked up at the top of Pride Rock. He walked the narrow path Mufasa had taken him up once. Looking out at the kingdom beneath him, a sudden, mighty wind pulling Simba's mane, the prince felt thoroughly moved. Something his mother once said came to him, after getting lost in the tall grass. "Should you find yourself lost in the expanse of this world, follow the wind. The wind will tell you where to go." (A/N Erk! Another lame line!) So what is the wind telling me now? Simba thought. He didn't know how or when it happened, but within minutes, he was asleep.

Mufasa woke up early the next day. He began to walk up to the top of Pride Rock, but was startled to find Simba already there, watching the sun rise. "Hey, Dad."

"Son?"

"Could you tell everyone to leave me alone for while. I need to just be…alone…"

Mufasa took the hint and headed back down to the cave. Timon and Pumbaa were up unusually early, following the King around as soon as they found him.

"Where's Simba?" Timon was panicking. Mufasa looked menacingly down at the meerkat.

"My son is realizing he needs to figure out his priorities before you push him so far in the wrong direction that he can't take his place in The Circle of Life!" Timon and Pumbaa looked up at Mufasa blankly.

"Huh?"

"I give up!" bellowed Mufasa before storming off into the cave, grumbling the whole way.

"What'd he just say, Timon?" the warthog asked.

"Eah, something about not getting paid enough. Come on, let's go back to sleep."

Simba stayed on top of Pride Rock for several days, coming down only for water and occasional kill, and only at night. At first, everyone (excluding Timon and Pumbaa) thought it was good that the prince was trying to get some perspective. Nala was especially happy knowing that she was the reason he was up there. But, since Simba made himself as invisible as possible, Mufasa was the last one optimistic about it as time went on. Days became a week. Two weeks. Sixteen days.

On the seventeenth day, Mufasa walked up to Simba's point. "Simba?"

"Dad, could you please le-"

"Son, the lionesses are going hunting. Large game hunting." Simba didn't get it. "Son, you have to eat something soon! Look at you! You're practically skin and bones!"

"I'm fine, Dad. I'll come down."

"Okay, son," Mufasa hesitated to leave, but went to see off the lionesses. Game was getting more scarce and they needed support. Simba watched the lionesses head out from above. He noticed Nala all alone, walking to a large water hole far to the west. Simba went back to sleeping.

Nala, on the other hand, was out to prove herself. She wanted to fell a real kill all on her own. Not some weak gazelle like she had been doing. She wanted a zebra. Nala was going to get way more than she bargained for.

A relatively long chapter! Yay!

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